The 2006-07 season for the Vancouver Canucks was a major turning point for the franchise. It marked the entrance of several major characters in the storyline of their march to the 2011 Cup Final, including a new head coach, and the acquisition of the greatest Canucks goaltender of all time. That's a busy year.

This was a time of conflicted expectations. Prior to the previous season, many expected the Canucks to thrive on the new obstruction rules following the lockout, but they ended the season out of a playoff spot. Consequentially, many analysts picked the Canucks to miss the playoffs again, being a relatively low scoring team that had proceeded to lose a number of point producers in the off season.

However, this theory severely miscalculated the value of adding Roberto Luongo and the cohesion the team would find under their new head coach.

Let's get started in unpacking the 2006-07 Vancouver Canucks campaign.

The hockey season may be over and done with, but the wound that is this last season as a Vancouver Canucks fan is still relatively fresh. There's plenty of meat left on these bones and with the draft and the opening of free agency now in the rear view mirror, it's time we got cookin'.

The process starts with a series of player-by-player reviews for the season that was. Today's will be centered on he who never smiles, Dan Hamhuis.

The Vancouver Canucks have become post-season regulars this side of the millennium.

It doesn't even take a full-hand to count how many times they've sat out. It can sometimes be easy to lose perspective of this, but all things being equal, this franchise has been one of the more consistently competitive ones in the league for the last 15-years.

As such, it's no big surprise that it's usually one-and-done with any given coaching staff when they fall short of these expectations. Such was the case for Marc Crawford, as he couldn't bring this team to realize the potential it flashed so brilliantly in the three seasons prior. If the window to contend was closing last season, this one saw it slammed shut with a set of burglar bars installed.

Canucks shake things up, pay too much for Sutter, Leafs-Bernier Arb battle, breaking down Lamoriello's past trades, one of the Flames top prospects coming to North America, McDavid, Scrivens, free agents still available for almost free and more in this week's Roundup.

For the Vancouver Canucks, it was the window for the West Coast Express to contend. And it was doomed to suffer a similar fate to the one which befell the club during the 2003-04 season. A campaign that started with such promise, for a team so very ready to contend, it has unfortunately lived on in infamy - marked as the season that ended one career and tainted the legacy of another.

The season started with so much promise. This club had every intention of contending for Stanley's chalice and I'll be damned if they didn't boast a roster worthy of the honour (aside from the goaltender thing). Bad luck, worse decisions and a heartbreaking finish conspired to close out the Canucks season.

Relive every exhilarating, heartbreaking, head-scratching moment, on the other side of the jump.